Juneteenth - Freedom Day - June 19

Ashton Village where General Order #3 was read on June 19, 1965.

Great Joy Counseling and Consulting Services will be closed, Friday, June 19, in observance of Juneetenth. 

Juneteenth, also known as Liberation Day or Freedom Day, commemorates June 19, 1865, where federal orders were read in Galveston, Texas freeing enslaved people. 

While the Emancipation Proclamation abolished slavery in 1863, Texas hadn't complied with the order.  Some say this occurred because the federal orders abolishing slavery traveled slowly. Others say there was a  lack of Union Army enforcement in remote areas like Texas, and this allowed slavery to persist.  

According to J.R. Lockhart,

"In many ways, Juneteenth represents how freedom and justice in the US has always been delayed for black people."

The century after the end of the war was met with the continued suffering of Black people in America. Lynching, Jim Crow, mass incarceration, limited economic opportunities and racist laws. 

We still have a long way to go.

This year, spend some time educating yourself about the significance of Juneetenth and celebrate the contributions of Black Americans in our nation- there is no America, without Black people.

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Written by: Dr. La'Tesha Sampson